Griffith phase-induced ferromagnetic diffuse phase transition

Abstract

A ferromagnetic transition is generally regarded as a diffusionless process, exhibiting a sharp change of magnetic properties with temperature. In this paper, however, we report a ferromagnetic diffuse phase transition (FDPT) induced by Griffiths phase in La1 − xSrxMnO3 (0·06 ≤ x ≤ 0·2). Such a FDPT experiences a broad transition temperature range, resulting in temperature-controlled ferromagnetic cluster owing to the existence of Griffiths phase during the diffusion process. The transition temperature range calculated from M–T curve is as large as 146 K for the FDPT sample. Further analysis suggests that this novel FDPT has the same scenario with that in the ferroelectric relaxor, where the ferroelectric clusters are embedded in the paraelectric matrix.